Remittances Hit $3.079 Billion in October, Up 2.7% from 2023

Remittances from overseas Filipinos rose for the second consecutive month in October, reaching $3.079 billion, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Monday.

Key Figures

• Monthly Growth: Up from $3.009 billion in September and 2.7% higher than October 2023’s $2.998 billion.
• Land-based Workers: Remittances increased by 3.2% to $2.48 billion from $2.40 billion a year earlier.
• Sea-based Workers: Remittances grew by 0.6% to $0.6 billion.
• Year-to-Date Total: Cash remittances for the first 10 months of 2024 reached $28.304 billion, 3.0% higher than the $27.492 billion recorded during the same period in 2023.

Top Sources of Remittances

The BSP attributed the growth to inflows from key countries, led by:

1. United States: 41.2% of total inflows (January–October 2024).
2. Singapore: 7.1%.
3. Saudi Arabia: 6.2%.
4. Japan: 4.9%.
5. United Kingdom: 4.8%.
6. United Arab Emirates: 4.3%.
7. Canada: 3.5%.
8. Qatar and Taiwan: 2.8% each.
9. South Korea: 2.5%.

Personal Remittances

Including cash and in-kind transfers through informal channels, personal remittances reached $3.415 billion in October, a 2.7% increase from $3.327 billion in October 2023. Year-to-date personal remittances rose to $31.487 billion, up 3.0% from $30.569 billion in the same period last year.

Economic Impact

The steady growth in remittances, driven by contributions from both land-based and sea-based overseas workers, remains a vital pillar of the Philippine economy, bolstering domestic consumption and foreign exchange reserves.